Fatal
by MandyMassacre
Summary: Set eight years after the events of Blade: Trinity. Zoe is now 18 and tries desperatly to make King understand that she's not a little girl anymore. Rating changed to M.
1. Chapter 1

There are a few things that one experiences in life that are impossible to be forgotten. Like hearing your mother being killed by a vampire. Or being kidnapped by said vampire. Or watching a man you thought to be indestructible chained to a floor getting the crap beat out of him. Lucky me, I got to see them all in one night, when I was ten years old. Now, eight years later, those memories still haunt me. Sure, you learn to deal, but the screams never stop; and the blood never goes away. My name is Zoë Sommerfield. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm not a little kid anymore. I haven't been a kid since the night my mother was killed.

My autobiographical train of though was snapped as the lights in the training facility went off. I smirked and let my eyes adjust before slowly scanning the room for the intruder. I've lived in the Honeycomb hideout my whole life, and I know the training room like the back of my hand.

I felt a presence behind me and I turned and kicked the figure. He grabbed my leg mid kick and threw me to the floor. I quickly re-gained my stance and bent down, dodging a punch. I kicked the person's feet out from under them and straddled them on the floor. My hand went around his neck and I felt a wild heart-beat. After a few minutes of gagging, the figure finally gave up.

"Fine, I give, I GIVE ZOE!" King choked out. I smirked once more and removed my hands from, his throat, but remained on top of him.

"Sneaking up on me only worked until I was about ten, King." I stated, laughing.

"Yeah, whatever. I let you win." he reasoned, "Now get off me." I did as he requested, and helped him off of the floor.

"You're getting too old for this King."

"I'm only 30!" he roared. Hannibal King hates it when you remind him how old he is. Granted, he's still in the same shape he was eight years ago. When I was ten, boys still had cooties and I never really appreciated the god-like body King had. Once I hit 15, I realized how amazing good looking Hannibal was. My whole world crashed down about that time. I stopped speaking to him, because every time I tried, I would blush and giggle. It frustrated me because I'd never had that kind of reaction to anyone before, especially KING.

Abby figured it out first, seeing as how she's a girl and all. She took me aside and asked me if I had a crush on King. When I'd furiously shook my head 'no' and looked at my shoes, she knew I was lying. She told me it was okay, and that it was normal and all it was, was a little crush. She then told me that King was worried that I was upset with him. I begged her not to tell and she promised she wouldn't if I would stop avoiding him. I said I would and the subject was dropped.

I've attempted to let go of my infatuation with King ever since I was 15, but instead, it's grown. I've fallen in love with him. The only problem is that he treats me like I'm the eight year old girl I was when my mother was killed. Take the most over-protective father you can think of, and multiply it by ten. King constantly makes me check in, and I don't think I've ever been on a real date or to a real school. King told me once that he'd lost my mom and he 'sure as hell wasn't going to let anything happen to me', therefore, I got to have NO LIFE outside the hideout.

I can barely go out without King waiting up until I get home. I've tried to explain to him how I'm eighteen, and if I really wanted to, I could just leave. He just shakes his head and tells me if I ever did that, he'd hunt me down and tie me to my bed. Once, when I was feeling extra flirty, I told him that I wouldn't mind. He scolded me and walked out of the room. It's not fun getting completely shot down. King specializes in breaking my heart. So here I was, in love with a man who thinks of me like a daughter.

"Zoë?" he asked, snapping me once again out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I turned to him, in question.

"Abby and I have to go out again tonight. We'll be back late. Don't wait up." King always told me not to wait up, and yet, I always do.

"You know I will." I told him, rolling my eyes. He laughed and turned to leave.

"I know, I know."

I always worry about Abby and King when they go out to hunt. I always check the profiles and see about how many they have to take down. This gives me an approximate time frame for their hunt. I checked, and tonight's seemed fairly easy. I guessed about an hour, give or take.

When they had been gone almost five hours, my mind went into worry mode major. I called King three times and Abby four. I was convinced that I needed to go out and look for them. Even though King would kill me for it later. I wasn't allowed to be a nightstalker. Abby was all for it, but King was too worried and said I wasn't trained enough yet. As if eight years isn't enough.

I was suiting up to go out when I saw their SUV pull up outside on one of the security camera's. I saw that Abby was driving, which was odd. I then saw her to around to the passenger side and help King out. I gasped as I saw his blood covered face through the monitor. I ran down the stairs and out the door to help Abby. She saw me and smiled at the look of fear on my face.

"He's fine. He just got a little scratched." she said.

"A little scratched?! That bitch tried to claw my eye's out. Then she staked me!" I heard him rant from the inside of the car. "I hate getting staked." he mumbled.

I helped Abby get him inside and up to him room. Abby went to put away their weapons, while I helped King into bed. I peeled his bloody vest and shirt off with some difficulty, frowning at the gashes that plagued his chest. His face was the worst. A long gash went from his eyebrow to his cheek and his lip was bleeding badly. No matter how many times I saw King come home injured, I still couldn't deal with it. My eyes glossed over and I felt tears sliding hotly down my face. King must have saw because he grabbed my hand and mad me sit next to him on the bed.

"Hey now, you and I both know that I've been hurt worse than this-" he began.

"I know, but I still don't like to see you get hurt." I told him quietly. He brushed away a few tears as I began to clean his wounds.

"She put up quite the fight." King said, laughing. "The way she staked me, I'm thinking we invite her to be a nightstalker." King obviously thought this was funny, I however, did not.

"Not funny. Not funny at all, Hannibal." I snapped. He looked taken back at my use of his first name. I only used his first name when I was mad.

"Zo-"

"No, Hannibal. Not this time. I swear to God, if I lose you-"

"Zoë, I'm okay. I promise." he assured me. I rolled my eyes and got up to leave his room.

"Get some rest."

I got to my room and collapsed on my bed in tears. Abby came in a little bit later and laid down next to be silently.

"Abby, one day, he's going to get himself killed. I can't deal with that. I can't lose him too." I cried.

"I know, Zoë. He's careful. He's careful because of you. He does this for you. To protect you from what killed your mom."

"He doesn't act like it." I retorted, bitterly.

Abby sighed and left my room, turning out my light as she went. I hated Hannibal King. I hated him because I loved him so much, and he refused to see it. He always had to protect me, and never let me protect him.

One day he was going to need me. I prayed that it was sooner rather than later.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day I successfully avoided King. I was still angry with him for getting hurt and I was a bit embarrassed about how I'd flipped out on him. My day was spent training with Abby and cleaning the hideout. I love Abby and King to death, but they both know nothing about keeping a home clean. I honestly have no idea what they would do without me. The idea of leaving and joining another cell popped up into my mind a few times, but there was no way I could abandon the two people who had raised me since the age of ten.

That night, after King was asleep, Abby crept into my room, geared up and ready to hunt.

"Zoë, I'm going to hunt. King's obviously out for a few days and I need a partner. Wanna join in the fun?" she asked with a smirk. My eyes widened and I smiled.

"Are you serious? I can come?" I questioned, amazed. Abby shook her head and motioned for me to follow her. I trailed behind her down to the weapons room, where she put King's gun holster on me, after tightening it quite a bit. She then handed me two guns and a vest that held UV bombs and a few silver stakes. I grabbed some extra bullets from a cabinet and looked at myself in the mirror. _I looked like a nightstalker_.

I drove to our destination, while Abby began to make her playlist. There was no need for a game plan because we both knew what we had to do. Kill vampires. As we pulled up to the seemingly abandoned building, Abby nodded to me.

"You'll do fine. I've trained you well."

Abby's confidence in me added to the confidence that I had in myself. Endless nights of rigorous training were about to be put to the test as we finally found out if I would be an acceptable hunter. Abby put her headphones in place and I smirked as she bobbed her head to the beat of the song that was pulsating through them. We entered the building from the back entrance and silently crept up the old stairs. One look at the building and one could tell that it was at least a hundred years old and was completely untouched by modern civilization. Exactly the place that vampires would hide out. A lighted room awaited us at the top of the stairs. Abby and I peaked through the cracked door and surveyed the damage that needed to be done. We counted six vampires. Six seemed to be quite an obstacle to me, but Abby shrugged as if it would be a walk in the park.

The room was large and looked as if it had once been a theatre of some sort. There was a stage and a balcony and in the center of the room there was a long table where the vampires sat and huddled over something that looked suspiciously like blueprints. Abby motioned to the stage and I shook my head in understanding. I crept up and waited for the signal from her. Once she was in position at the door, she nodded to me. I ran across the stage and jumped onto the wood floor. I looked up to see all six vampires looked at me angrily. I stared each one down as I retrieved my guns from King's holster. Having his holster on gave me a feeling of power and finesse.

"Ready to die, motherfuckers??" I asked manically. Abby busted out from behind the door a smile directed in my direction. It was something King would've said and she knew it. A moment passed where the vampire simply gawked at us before the battle royal began. They all hissed and cam at us. I dodged the first one easily; by kicking his stomach none too gently. Then I shot him directly between the eyes. I took a moment to admire my shot before he turned to ash. Immediately, a second vampire grabbed me by the throat and held me high above his head. I struggled to get free, but his grasp was simply too strong. I heard a shot ring out and that vampire was also ash. Abby nodded to me and turned back to a large vampire that she had on the floor. A third came towards me with a knife. We circled each other for a moment before he struck out and slashed my arm with the blade.

"You fucker! This is my favorite SHIRT!" I yelled as I kick his stomach repeatedly. He doubled over and I took the opportunity to stake him. After he turned to ash, I took a minute to assess the damage done to my shirt. It was a black thermal that King had given me. It had been one of his. Now it was ruined. I growled as I ran towards the last remaining vampire. He hissed lamely and attempted to punch me, but I was quicker and dodged it, and instead lodged a silver stake into his cranium.

After they were all little piles of glowing red ash, Abby walked over to me. I was panting and my arm was stinging like hell. She looked at my arm in question, but I shook my head, letting her know I was okay.

"You killed three on your first hunt. Wait until King hears about this. He only got two on his first time out." she told me smiling. I laughed but then I realized how mad King was going to be when he found out that I went hunting.

"You think we could wait to tell him, until tomorrow?" I asked. Abby nodded and motioned for me to follow her back to the car.

As we re-entered the hideout, we talked and laughed about the successful hunt. I entered the kitchen and turned on the light, revealing a non smiling King. My face fell instantly and I immediately braced myself for the stinging words to come. I'd never seen King look so angry. He was burning holes through me with his glare and I gulped in anticipation.

"Where have you been, you little sneaks?" he asked calmly. I could see his last restraint was breaking as we stood before him. I opened my mouth to speak, but Abigail stopped me.

"I took Zoe on a hunt, King." she told him, just as calmly.

"YOU DID WHAT?" he roared. Now his death glare was centered on her, rather than me. "I specifically said no. I've said no a hundred times. God Abby, what the fuck were you thinking?!"

"She did fine, King. She did amazing actually. Better than someone else did if I remember correctly." she shot back, sending him her own death glare. King seethed anger from every pore.

"She's fucking bleeding Abby! Did you not see that? AND YOU LET HER WEAR MY HOLSTER? AW, WHY?" he yelled as he advanced toward me. He reached out to touch my arm, but I jumped away from him as if he'd burned me. He looked shocked at my reaction, and I began to cry. I couldn't take anymore of his anger. I ran past him, and past Abby, up the stairs to my room. I faintly heard Abby telling King 'way to go', but my heart was pounding so hard, I couldn't hear much of anything. I felt like a child that was in the middle of a fight between parents, which was really what it was. I sank into my bed and silently let the tears fall. I hated King at that moment for being so hostile towards Abby. She didn't do anything wrong. I WAS ready for a hunt. I did a great job. King was the only one who refused to believe it.

Sometimes later I heard a knock and a soft, 'Zoë' from the other side of the door. I knew it was King from the knock.

"GO AWAY." I said loudly. I knew he wouldn't. My door opened slowly and King poked his head inside. I sent him a glare very similar to the one he sent me. I like to call it the 'eat shit and die' glare. He hung his head as he stepped inside my room. I turned on my bed, so I was facing the wall instead of him. He sighed and sat in a chair next to me bed before he finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Abby said you dusted three? That's pretty amazing. I barely got two my first time." he tried. I shrugged my shoulders and kept my back to him.

"If you came for your holster, it's on the desk." I told him curtly, still facing the wall.

"I came to talk, Zoë. The holster looks better on you anyways." King knew this would get a response. It wasn't any apology. That would come later. Right now, he was simply trying to get to me speak to him. I smiled and turned over, unable to resist his charm. He smiled at me sadly. I scooted over on my bed to give him room and he jumped in without an invitation. We laid there for a moment before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and Abby. I've already apologized to her. I just-, I was just worried Zoë. I'm so scared that you'll get hurt, or worse, I'll lose you to some blood-sucking punk." he stopped and took a deep breath. "Abby told me how great you were tonight. I wish I could have been there." He paused to let the words sink in. Let me know he wasn't mad anymore. "Now let me see your arm. I need to bandage it up."

I sat up as he assessed the gash on my arm. He hissed as he looked at it. He looked up at me and shook his head. I rolled my eyes at him as he left to get bandages. I told him all about the hunt as he cleaned and dressed my wound. He smiled and laughed as I told him about the one who tried to sucker punch him. His eyes twinkled as I retold my story. I don't know what Abby said to him, but it worked because he finally got it. He understood that I was ready to accept the challenge of being a Nightstalker. I curled up next to him like I used to do when I was younger and had a nightmare. I could creep up to his bed and poke his arm. He wake up instantly, see me, and pull me into bed with him. He'd hug me tight and wait up until I fell back to sleep. Once I hit thirteen, I stopped coming to King. I'd go to Abby instead. Abby understood why and she'd sit up with me until I fell back asleep. King asked me once why I didn't come to him when I had nightmares anymore and I made some lame excuse about how Abby would actually talk, rather than mumble incoherently. It got me out of an embarrassing situation and he seemed to accept that answer.

"How long has it been since you've had a nightmare?" King asked me.

"About two days." I admitted.

"I didn't hear you scream." he said, looking into my eyes.

"I don't scream. I cry." I told him.

"My room is right across the hall." he reminded me with a smile. I nodded, but somehow, we both know that me sleeping in his bed with him wouldn't be a good thing. He hugged me tight to his chest before getting off of my bed and walked out my door, stopping just before he reached the hallway.

"Zoë, are we cool?" he asked, sincerely.

"We're cool." I agreed. He smiled and turned to leave, but turned back and glared at me playfully.

"Abby said you stole my line." he accused with a smile in his brown eyes. I laughed remembering my comment while jumping into the pack.

"Those motherfuckers were ready to die." I reasoned.

"That's my girl."


	3. Chapter 3

I was elated knowing the fact that I was finally allowed to hunt with Abby and King. I could tell that he was still a little wary of me doing it; the feeling was getting more familiar. King decided that he wanted to take over my training. He kept reminding me that just because I was a legit nightstalker, I couldn't slack off on my training.

"I know, King. You tell me once a day." I whined at him. I had no idea what was wrong with him, but he was pushing me exceptionally hard today. We'd fought for three hours and then I'd practiced with a punching bag for another hour. By this time, I was completely spent and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and my pillow.

"Hopefully, one day, it'll sink it!" he snapped.

"IT HAS KING!" I roared. "I've been training my ass off every single day since my first hunt. I don't know what you've been seeing, but I'd go as far as to say I'm in better shape than you are! Screw you and screw this. I'm done for the night." I half expected him to call my name and make me stay, but he fell silent and solemnly watched me walk out of the training room, his chest heaving.

I don't get him. I probably never will. He's the most confusing male I've ever met. I think he's trying to make me give up and decide to go back to not hunting. Fat chance of that. My neck was sore from the fighting and my knuckles were bloody and bruised. Once I reached the bathroom, I pulled up my shirt to reveal a bruise the size of a softball on my stomach. That was courtesy of one of King's kicks. He'd not really meant to kick and apologized, but that didn't take away the pain. I hissed as the hot water fell over my bruised and tired body.

After my shower, I changed and met Abby in the kitchen. She gave me a sympathetic smile and offered me a slice of the pizza she was eating.

"I'm not hungry." I told her.

"Gotta love those endorphins!" she said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"What the hell is wrong with King?" I asked. "He's been like a bloody slave driver lately."

"He's just making sure you're ready. He goes a little overboard sometimes, and he knows it. King just wants to make sure you're in top physical condition. He sometimes forgets that not everyone has his strength." she reminded me. I then remembered that King had retained a bit of his strength during his change from a vampire back into a human. The man just didn't get tired.

"I wish he would cut it out."

"Cut what out?" Speak of the devil. I turned slowly to see a freshly showered King standing in front of me with a small smile. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, turning to leave. He caught my arm and pulled me back to him, motioning for me to pull up my shirt. I looked at him in alarm, before realizing that he wanted to see the bruise from his kick.

"Oh." I said quietly, as I lifted my tank top. King groaned as he saw the purple-ish mark that marred my pale skin.

"I'm sorry, Zoë." he offered.

"No you're not." I huffed as I walked up the stairs. He called my name, but I ignored him and slammed my bedroom door. Totally deja vu. It was nights like this that I really missed my mom. I pulled out Wizard of Oz and turned to the page where we had stopped the night Drake killed her. The Gnome King. I let a few tears slip down my cheeks remembering how I had hid and heard her scream. I wish she would have hid with me. Drake would have found us though. Just like he found me. I cried myself asleep that night. I dreamt of Drake and the night that he killed my mom.

_I was in the room where they were keeping King chained to the floor. They brought me in and I noticed the look or sheer terror on his face. The door slammed behind me and it was just me and King. Suddenly, the terror turned to hunger and his eyes became dark. His chains were gone and his canines glistened in the moonlit room. He advanced towards me and I backed as close as possible to the wall. It was then that I noticed that I wasn't a ten year old little girl. I was eighteen. King came closer still, until he had me pinned to the wall. I struggled against him, but he was too strong and he held me to the wall with one hand. He used to other to tilt my neck to the side. He licked my neck softly and murmured that he was sorry. I cried and begged him to stop, but his teeth plunged into my neck and I felt my life being drained from me. _

I awoke with a scream and within minutes, King was standing beside my bed looked alarmed. He reached out to touch me, but I recoiled and cried harder.

"Zoë, what the fuck?" he asked, panicking. I then realized that it was just a dream and that King wasn't a vampire. I broke down in sobs as I tried to tell him what happened.

"I was- and you- you were a- you bit me." I choked out.

"Zoë, what are you talking about? I can't understand what you're saying!" he told me, alarm still evident on his face.

"It was that night. And Danica bit you. And you bit me! I begged you to stop, but you wouldn't. YOU BIT ME KING!" I yelled, still sobbing. Realization hit King at that moment and he nodded. He then turned and left my room. A moment later Abby came in and gathered me in her arms. I cried and coughed and she sat there, telling me it was going to be okay. Assuring me that King was fine he would never hurt me. I looked up and saw him standing in my doorway, tears forming in his eyes. He looked scared. I caught his eye and he shook his head and left the room.

"I've never had that dream before, Abby. Never. I've dreamt about my mom and Hedges and Dex, but never about King hurting me. God, I was so terrified!" I told her, my sobs finally ceasing.

"It was just a dream." she assured me.

"I know, but it felt so real. It was like I could feel him." I stopped and took a deep breath. "Is he going to be alright?"

After the whole Drake ordeal, King wouldn't come near me for the longest time. Abby had explained that he was ashamed because of what had happened in that room. I thought he was crazy, because being ten, I thought I knew everything and I knew that King would never hurt me. Still, it didn't settle King's mind. He'd dreamt about hurting me for months after everything, until he finally realized it was okay to be near me again. I knew that my dream tonight had awoken two of King's biggest fears. Being a vampire, and killing someone he loved.

"He might be a little skittish for a while. You remember last time." she told me.

"I didn't mean for him to find out. I didn't want him to. He just ran in here, and I was—"

"Zoë, it's okay. It's not your fault."

I dropped the subject after that. Abby, after making sure I was okay, left my room and went back to bed. I tried to fall back asleep was but unsuccessful. I decided to get up and get a drink of water. On my way to the kitchen I passed King's room. I saw him sitting on his bed, his head down, facing the window. I came up behind him and touched his shoulder lightly. He snapped around to look at me and grabbed my wrist tightly, ready to fight whomever it was. I looked at him in fear and his face softened. He let go of my wrist and returned his gaze to the window, where outside, it was storming.

"Zoë, just leave me alone, please?" he begged. I knew he was hurt. He was hurt because of me and how afraid I'd been when I'd woken up to see him standing next to me. I made up my mind that I wasn't going to let him run away from me again.

"No, Hannibal." I said sternly. "Look at me." he didn't turn. "Look at me damn it!" I yelled. He turned slightly, taken aback by my outburst. It was then that I noticed the tears that were falling from his eyes. Hannibal King never, never, NEVER, cried. I felt my own eyes begin to cloud and I climbed on the bed in front of him and softly brushed away the tears. He shook his head furiously and tried to move away from me, but I wouldn't budge.

"Zo-"

"No, King. I won't let you do this. I won't let you shut me out because of some stupid dream! It wasn't real! It was just a dream!" I tried to convince him, but he still shook his head.

"The look on your face Zoë, it was like I HAD killed you. I just—"

"But you didn't." I reminded him. "You never would!"

"Zoë, you don't get it. The thirst always wins. ALWAYS. If Danica had bit me, I couldn't have stopped myself from killing you!" he told me, again trying to move away. I put my hands on his shoulders and kept him from moving. I then moved them to the side of his face to keep him from looking away.

"But it didn't, King. It was eight years ago. She didn't bite you and you didn't kill me. We're both fine!" I insisted. He sighed and hung his head again. I moved my arms around his neck and he wrapped and arm around my waist.

"Fuck, Zoë." he said. He then smiled up at me. I smiled back and then took notice of the position we were in. He was sitting on the side of his bed, and I was kneeling next to him with my arms around his neck and his arm around my waist. Our faces were close and both tear stained and King's breathing was getting heavy. It would have been so easy to just kiss him. We were both so emotionally fried that he probably would welcome it, I told myself. We looked at each other for the longest time before King moved away from my grasp and scooted towards his pillow. I sighed as I felt him move away and started to get up and leave.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him until we were lying next to each other on his bed. He brought the blankets up and covered us up before turning and holding me close to his body. I smiled to myself as I snuggled closer to him. I was facing away from him so I turned in his arms. I looked up expectantly and King smiled before kissing my forehead gently. I smiled back and turned, closed my eyes and listened to King's soft, steady breathing.

"We'll be okay, Zoë." I heard him softly mutter. "We'll be okay."


	4. Chapter 4

When I woke up the next morning, King was gone. That didn't surprise me. He probably woke up and realized the compromising position that we'd found ourselves in.

The bright sunrise was a harsh awakening and I squinted trying to let my eyes adjust. I groaned and rolled out of King's bed, stumbling as I attempted to regain consciousness. I made my way back to my bedroom, peeking into Abby's room to find her still asleep. That struck me as odd. Abby was almost always the first one up in the morning. I looked at the clock on my nightstand which made me aware that it was only 6 o'clock in the morning. I was agitated that I was awake at such a god-awful time in the morning.

But why was King up? He never drags himself out of bed before nine, let alone six. Worry manifested itself in my mind and I ran, frantically, around the hideout looking for King. I finally found him on the room, watching the sunrise. His face was dark and he looked tired. I made my presence known with a small cough. He turned to look at me, but his expression didn't change and he turned away again. I came up behind him and carefully wrapped my arms around his waist, but I didn't get the reaction I'd hoped for. King removed my arms immediately and sent me a stern glare.

"No, Zoë." he said. The hurt must have been very evident on my face because his softened and he sighed and turned to face me.

"What's wrong, King?" I asked feebly, not understanding his sudden distaste for my affection. "Did I do something-"

"You shouldn't have come to my room last night, Zoë," He paused "and I shouldn't have let you stay."

I felt my heart break a little when he said these words. Nothing even happened, yet he was making it seem like we slept together. Now I was the one who was sending a harsh glare and speaking with venom in my voice.

"Fuck you King. I wasn't there to try to seduce you. I was worried that you were upset. I was just trying to make it all okay. Get off your high horse and stop thinking that every woman in the world wants nothing more than to sleep with you." I spewed. King looked shocked and took a few steps back. I was so angry that I started to cry. I was crying because I was embarrassed. King knew. He had to know. Know that I wanted nothing more than to sleep with him.

"Zoë-" he started.

"No, Hannibal. Just leave it. I can't believe that you would think something like that!" _even thought you're absolutely correct. _I slapped his face hard. His hand immediately went to it, swearing at the pain. I cried harder and ran off of the roof and back inside. I went to my room and dressed in black pants, a tank top and running shoes. I ran out the door and didn't look back. I heard King calling my name from the roof but I refused to give in and look at him. I ran down the street as the hot tears turned ice cold on my red cheeks. I didn't stop running until I was to the park, which was about ten miles from the hideout.

I sat on a swing and panted, tears still falling from my face. I remembered when my mom would bring me here. She couldn't see me, so every few seconds; she'd call out my name, to make sure I was alright. I would say yes, and she'd smile and leave me to my monkey bars. After my mom died, King brought me once. I tried to relive those happy times, but all I could remember was her calling out my name. I started crying and told King that I wanted to leave. When he asked me why, I told him that I was ten, and ten was absolutely too old to play at the park. He had rolled his eyes and we'd gone back to the hideout. The park still held those memories and I wasn't willing to forget them. I sat on the swing for what felt like hours until I made up my mind. I was going to play.

I smiled and jumped up, heading immediately for the monkey bars. Because I was taller and more coordinated, I could now make my way flawlessly. I laughed and walked quickly to the slide and climbed up, before feeling the rush as I slide down into the sand. I sat in the sand and drank in the sunlight. I felt a presence near me and I whipped my head around, ready to attack. I looked up into the sunlight and made out the familiar face of Hannibal. I sighed and ignored him, going back to playing with the sand.

"If ten is too old to play at the park, then at eighteen, it must be illegal." he joked. I glared at his attempt to make me laugh and got up, heading back to the swings. I was attempting to let him know I wanted nothing to do with him, but he followed me and sat down in the swing next to me.

"How did you find me?" I asked, still avoiding eye contact.

"I know you, Zoë. I know this place holds memories."

"A lot of things hold memories—" I began.

"This one holds good ones, and after this morning, I though you probably needed some." he reasoned. He had a good point. Maybe that was the reason that I had ran to the park. I needed to feel close to my mother.

"Why are you here, King? Better be careful, I might try to kiss you-"

"Zoë, stop, alright. I'm sorry. I'm sorry a thousand times. It was a shitty thing to say to you. I guess—I—"

"What, King?"

"I guess it was because I was afraid of what I might have done, Zoë. You're not a little girl anymore. You're a beautiful woman, absolutely beautiful. You of all people know how I get around beautiful women." he said. I finally looked at him and saw the guilt on his face. "The thing is, I can't let it happen Zoë. We can't do it. I can't be with you like that. I remember when you were ten years old and I had to chase the monsters out from under your bed, I'd feel like a creep if I slept with you."

King is blunt.

"You're not a creep King. And you said it yourself; I'm NOT a little girl anymore."

"But I see you as one. I can't help it. Plus, your mother would come back from the grave and kill me if I even touched you." he joked. I smiled, because I knew it was the truth.

"You're probably right." I agreed.

"I'm sorry Zoë. As much as I want to, I just can't."

I nodded as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I smiled and got up from the swings. We both understood that nothing could happen. I understood, but I still hated it. I loved him dearly, but I could never really tell him, or show him for that matter. I began to walk back to the hideout with King by my side. I didn't believe him. We weren't going to be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

The walk home from the park was unbearable. I felt a cold shiver come over my whole body. It settled in my heart and wouldn't leave. I knew everything would be different. Kind and I could never be a close as we once were, no, not after all of this. I wrapped my arms around my shivering frame and increased my pace. King looked at me strangely and tried to keep up.

I growled at his persistence and began and run. He smirked and once again, matched my pace. I progressively got faster and faster until I was running as fast as my legs would take me. King was right behind me the whole time. My breathing was ragged from the exertion, but King showed no signs of fatigue. It soon became clear that I wasn't just running home, I was racing King home. How it got to that point is a matter I still do not understand. Running made me feel happy. All of the regrets about our previous conversation left my body suddenly, as we were racing. I began to smile, and when I looked at Hannibal, he was smiling right back.

A laugh erupted from my throat, and then I was laughing hysterically as I tried to beat the man with what seemed like unlimited stamina. He laughed too, but I don't think he knew what he was laughing about. He didn't understand. We ran all the way back to the hideout, which was about six miles. When we reached the front door, I collapsed against it, still giggling. My legs were exhausted, and I knew I needed to rest. I ran everyday under King's training routine, but this was different. I had run faster than I ever had. In my mind, I almost believed that if only I could run fast enough, all of the baggage from my past would fall away, and everything could be okay. How naïve.

"Zoë, what the hell?" King asked, panting slightly.

"Beat you!" I managed to burst through my gasps. King smiled slyly and shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah. You win." he agreed. I smiled lazily and let my legs collapse beneath me. I fell against the door and sat on the ground, still smiling. Hannibal looked down at me and rolled his eyes, before reaching down and picking me up. He held me as he opened the door and walked inside. I expected him to let me go as soon as we got inside, but he held me still. He walked upstairs to my room and laid me on my bed. My breathing hitched and I became nervous, imagining what he was planning.

My expectations were soon crushed as he walked out my door.

"Get some rest. We're training at six." he said.

I groaned and flipped onto my side, away from him. I heard him laugh slightly as he trotted down the stairs. At this point, I wanted to jump off of a building. We weren't going to be okay. I knew that. King knew it too; he was just lying to himself. I began to miss my mother immensely at that moment. She always knew how to put Hannibal in his place, and remind him of what was really important. I then wondered how she would react to my feelings towards King. I'm sure she would have been supportive, but on the other hand, she might have refused to accept it. King is a difficult man to trust. I'm not sure I would trust him with my daughter, if I had one. I became sick of thinking about my mom. I never got good feelings from that. Instead, I saw images of fangs, dripping with blood, or Drake's face, contorted into an evil smile.

I hate vampires.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, King's voice was bellowing up the stairs. I sighed and got up from my bed and changed my clothes hastily. Training really didn't appeal to me at this moment. Upon entering the training room, I saw a shirtless King waiting for me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're twenty minutes late." he said icily. I didn't know what was wrong with him, but he was acting strange, compared to our friendly race earlier.

"I fell asleep, get over it." I retorted. I turned to walk away but King grabbed my arm and yanked me forcefully towards him. His eyes held a strange glow and his face was cold. My instincts took over and I struggled against him, only to be met with his superior strength. Stupid vampire strength.

"What's your deal King, get off." I demanded. I'd never seen him look like this before. But then I remembered. I gasped as I tried desperately to get away from him. He'd only looked like this once before.

When he was being turned from a vampire back into a human.

"King, please. Fight whatever the fuck is inside you. Fight it King." Desperation was laced in my words. Hannibal let go, and I backed up, attempting to get to the door, so I could find Abby. King stalked towards me, like a lion cornering his prey. A whimper escaped from my throat as I hit the cold cement wall behind me. Then he was directly in front of me, pinning my arms above my head with one hand, and exposing my neck with the other.

"Zoë…." he growled. A tear escaped from my eye as he smiled. I looked for fangs, but there weren't any. I sighed in relief, but the fact of the matter was that he still had me pinned to the wall, and the look in his eye was neither playful nor seductive. It was a look of hunger. The only thing my mind would think to do was screaming. The moment I did, the look left King's eyes and he suddenly changed back. He let me go and backed up, looking at the marks forming around my wrists in horror.

"What the fuck—" I began, but King didn't stick around. I ran out of the training room and I heard the front door slam. I immediately regained my sense and hurriedly went to find Abby. I found her in the kitchen, staring dumbfounded at the door that King had just ran out of.

"What's his deal?" she asked me. I sighed and retold the story of what happened in the training room. Abby's widened and she started pacing around the kitchen mumbling curses.

"What's wrong, Abby, what's wrong with King?!" I asked, my voice rising with each word. I was scared now. There was no possible way King could be turning back. He hadn't been bitten.

"You mom said this could happen. She said there was a chance," Abby mumbled.

"WHAT ABBY? What could happen?!" I screamed frantically.

"She said it was possible that not all of King's DNA was reverted back to human, and that the vampiric cells could overtake the human ones. They're stronger, and all it takes is a couple, to completely wreak havoc on the human ones. But she swore, she swore the treatment worked and that if that were to happen, it would have happened a long time ago. I don't understand why it's happening now, after all these years." she finished, rubbing her face with her hands worriedly.

I felt fear overtake my whole body and I felt the tears build up behind my eyes. I grabbed my coat from the table and ran out of the door. I had to find King before he hurt someone, if this was truly what was happening. I felt Abby grab my arms and yank me back inside the hideout.

"No, Zoë. You can't. If he really is turning, he could hurt you. Let him come back. I'll call Caulder and get him to come over tomorrow."

"Abby, we need to find him and fix him NOW. We don't have time to wait!" I exclaimed. I couldn't let King go through this. His worst fear was turning. Now I knew why; it was because it was a possibility.

"We can't Zoë. I don't have the serum you mom used. We need Caulder to get a sample of King's DNA and reproduce the serum." she calmly explained.

I sighed and sat down on a chair. If this was true, it was bad news. If Caulder couldn't recreate the serum, we'd have to kill King. I started to panic then. My breathing became rapid and the last thing I remember was feeling faint and Abby saying my name,

I woke up with a start in a dark room. I began to get anxious, until I realized it was my own bedroom. I sighed and got up. My head had a large gash in it from where I had passed out and hit the kitchen floor. The situation at hand suddenly flooded back to me and I wrenched my door open and ran towards King's room. I saw him inside, and sighed in relief. He suddenly turned towards me, but refused to meet my eyes.

"Zoë, you shouldn't be in here. I don't know what happening an—"

"Abby told me, King. I know. But I'm not going to let you do this alone." I insisted.

"YOU CANT HELP ME!" he bellowed. "I CAN'T STOP THIS!"

"Yes I can," I told him calmly. "You have to let me."

Then, King did something I've never seen him do. He broke down in tears. He collapsed on his bed and cried. I walked towards him, and slid next to him on the bed. He looked at me through tearful eyes. Eyes that were full of unspoken fear.

"I don't want to be vampire again, Zoë." he pleaded.

"You're not going to be, King. Caulder is going to help." I assured him. King stopped crying and looked at me for some time. He brought his hand up and cupped my face gently. He must have noticed my look of confusion, because he laughed and brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

"I'm upset that I never let myself kiss you." he said. I could tell he wasn't himself, he seemed delirious almost. "Now I'll never get the chance to." He laughed bitterly and removed his hand from my face. "I'm going to turn." he eyes turned dark. "Then you'll have to kill me, Zoë, do you understand me, you have to do it. You have to end it!"

"No, I won't, King. I would let you bite me before I'd kill yo—"

"NO ZOE! You can't. I'll kill you. You have to do it for me. Promise me. Please. If I turn, you'll end it."

"I refuse to do that Hannibal King. I love you with every fucking fiber of my being. I won't give up on you." I told him. I got up and stormed out of his room and back into mine. I didn't care what he said. I would never, could never, hurt him.

I wish he would've let himself kiss me.


	6. Chapter 6

Caulder arrived early the next morning to look a King. He seemed optimistic that another round of EDTA would do the trick, but I was still worried sick. Abby warned me several times that if I didn't stop pacing I would wear a hole into the concrete floor. The wait while Caulder did blood work was agonizing. Memories of King when he first came to use flooded through my mind. He was so weak, so mistreated.

I prayed that Caulder could create another strand of the EDTA. I'd been told that the treatment that my mother had invented was revolutionary, and that King was lucky because it didn't work on all vampires. I braced myself for the worst as Abby walked out of the medical room with a tired expression on her face. No one had slept the night before, including King.

"Well?" I asked, nervously.

"Caulder was able to recreate the EDTA." Abby smiled, but then frowned, "I don't know if you remember the last time King did this."

"Vaguely."

"Well, it's incredibly painful, for whatever reason. He'll run an extremely high fever for a few days, and then he'll probably be delirious and irritable. I'm only telling you all of this so that you don't take anything he says during this time personal." Abby explained. The breath that had been inside was released as I sighed in frustration.

"Is he going to be okay Abby?"

"We won't know until after the EDTA starts to take effect. If his body rejects it, then no, he will not be okay." she told me.

"Don't tell me that Abby, I refuse to take his life." My voice was rising with each word, but Abby understood and brushed off my hostility. She nodded towards the door, letting me know I could go see him.

"Be careful, Zoë. If he tries to—" She began.

"No, Abby. He won't hurt me." I think I was trying to convince myself more than anyone else. Abby just shrugged and walked outside. I slowly got up from my seat on the couch and made my way into the room. Upon entering, I saw King hooked up to several machines, with an IV stuck into both arms. Tears came to my eyes as I saw him lying there; completely helpless. He appeared to be sound asleep, so I let the tears escape form my eyes as I quietly let out my sobs.

"Hey, why are you crying? Am I dying?" King asked groggily. His feeble attempts to lighten the mood didn't work at all. This only caused me to cry harder. King sighed heavily and opened one eye to look at me. I hung my head as I walked towards his bedside. He patted the side of it, inviting me to lie next to him. I obliged and laid down, snaking my arm across his bare chest.

"No, thank God." I told him, wiping my eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared that the EDTA wouldn't work and—"

"Zoë, don't get ahead of yourself. I've still got a whole week before we know for sure that it DID work." King reminded me. I felt more tears prickling my eyes and I attempted to get up, but King held me tightly to his chest. I wanted to get away. Away from him and his bleak outlook.

"King, you're going to be fucking fine. Stop being so goddamn overdramatic!" I demanded. King chuckled lightly and kissed my hair. I relaxed into his hold and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

"Zoë, I want to apologize for what happened in the training room. I couldn't control myself. I didn't mean to hurt you." King's demeanor suddenly changed to sullen and his voice lost its usual spunk.

"I understand King. It's not your fault." I reminded him. He looked down at my and offered a sad smile. Suddenly, I remembered something he had said the night before. "Hannibal, did you mean what you said last night, about being upset that you never let yourself kiss me?" I asked, albeit hopefully.

King sighed before he spoke. "Yes." he stated simply, avoiding my gaze.

"Well, I don't know if you noticed or not, but you have the opportunity to, right now." I'm so cheeky.

"Zoë—" he started. I took my chances and pulled his face to mine. I waited for three seconds, which I considered was enough time for him to pull away. He didn't pull away, though. I saw this as permission, so I gently touched my lips to his. It was soft and sweet and only lasted a few seconds, but the feeling was the most intense thing I'd ever felt in my entire life. There was eighteen years of built up tension released, and that became more evident as our next kiss became more heated. King groaned as I maneuvered my body on top of his, never breaking contact. His hands settled on my waist as we parted in need of oxygen. We simply stared at each other in awe for a few moments before one of us felt the need to speak.

"If you continue to kiss me like that, we're going to end up fucking right here. And if Abby or Caulder walk in, I swear—" he began, only to be cut off by another kiss. He moaned and pulled me closer, but I pulled away and got up off of his bed. He was right. He whimpered in protest, but I simply smiled and sat down in a chair next to his bed.

"I've waited a long time for this King. I can wait a few more days until you're better." I informed him. He glared at me playfully and reached out to hold my hand.

"I'm tired." he told me.

"Then go to sleep dummy. I'm not going anywhere." I said, brushing some hair from his forehead.

"Mmkay. Oh and Zoë?"

"Yes Hannibal?"

"Thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

**AUTHORS NOTE: Alright. Here's the deal. This story has been dead for the last four (can you believe it?) years. Which makes me feel really old. Twenty is the new fifty. (Imagine how much I'll complain when I actually get to age fifty?) REGARDLESS. I watched Blade: Trinity the other day and my little brain started turning with a million ideas for this dead story. Soooo, it's coming back with a vengeance. Also, would you believe me if I told you that Ryan Reynolds married Scarlett Johansson (I don't know how to spell her last name, fuck it.) and I got pissed and didn't like him anymore? Well that's over and he's slowly getting back into my good graces. If you're still reading this author's note, I apologize. I tend to ramble. Without further rambling…**

When Abby told me that King would get irritable and delirious, she should have said that King was going to start whining and acting like a total asshole. I refused to believe that he was suffering from delirium because this was how King acted every time he got a little sniffle, except…on a much grander scale.

I love the man; we've established this I do believe. However, when King gets sick, I'd prefer to be about a million miles away from him. I don't think I whined as much as he does when I was five. I'd had these awesome day dreams of snuggling up next to King in his bed while he recuperated from the EDTA treatment. I'd even imagined the moment that I told him how much I loved him and the way he'd smirk, offer a smart ass remark, and then finally admit he loved me too.

THESE WERE FOOLISH, FOOLISH DREAMS. (Not to mention, very pathetic. I'm a tough bitch. Promise.)

At the present moment, all I wanted to do was to jump on to King's bed and drive a stake right thru his throat. At least that would have shut him up. Caulder had determined that the EDTA was successful and that the only thing left to do was deal with King and his fever, pain and whiny ass. I'd tried to stuff him full of Vicodin, but Abby caught me and reasoned that if I caused King to become a pain medicine addict, it would only increase my pain and suffering. So, I put back four of the five pills in my hand and shoved one into his mouth. (He's got vampire DNA people, he can handle a little bit of oxycodone…)

Abby had to escape King's wrath and I begrudgingly let her do so by going out on small hunts by herself. She never targeted more than four at a time, so I was more than confident that she could handle herself. I was a tad jealous that I wasn't able to get away from Sir Whiny Ass for a few hours, but Abby admitted that even though my first hunt had been a (HUGE) success, I wasn't ready to go out on my own. So, I got stuck on bitch duty.

"ZOE!" he roared. I sighed and face palmed before throwing my book at the wall. I'd sedated King with another Vicodin (Shh, don't tell Abby!) and he had been sleeping for two hours while Abby was out. I'd picked up a book while I was out getting groceries earlier in the day. I found it a little strange that after being with King for about an hour, Abby had to go running out to kill something. (How do you think I feel dealing with him for his every waking moment?) The book was decent and I was furious that I'd only gotten two chapters in before King got all "needy" again.

"ZOE!"

"I'M COMING, HANNIBAL." I roared back. I tried to be an optimist and remind myself that King had been like this for about a week and a half and Caulder had promised that King would be back to normal in less than two weeks. I could handle this shit. I could. I hoped.

"Jesus, finally. How much Vicodin did you give me Zoe? I feel like I've been hit with a truck!"

"I bet if I gave you some more, you'd feel better!" I tried. King glared at me and sighed loudly.

"I'm burning up, Zoe." He whined. I glared right back at him but ultimately took pity on the love of my life and left the room to grab a cold washcloth. "Where are you going, Z-"

"I'll be RIGHT BACK KING." I shouted. See, I try to do something nice for the man and he acts like this…I quickly readied the cloth and walked back to King, trying to improve my morale. He smiled at me lazily when I crossed the threshold and even though I was furious at his behavior of late, I couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in my stomach when he smiled at me like that. I sat on the edge of his bed and gently placed the cold press on his forehead. He sighed contently and closed his eyes. He looked so innocent. Right.

"That feels good, Zoe." He purred.

"Yep. My mom always did it for me when I had a fever." The thought of my mother made me a bit sad, as it always did, and King noticed how my voice was a bit strained.

"Zoe."

"I'm fine King. Just relax." I begged. He was in no state to carry on a conversation about my mother. He'd probably just end up saying something stupid and I'd try to strangle him. He closed his eyes again and I shivered as one of his hands made its' way to my thigh. Sure, I was wearing jeans, but his touch sent a wave of fire through my veins. See, after our initial make out session after his EDTA was the last time we'd really had any physical contact. King had woken up from his nap with a scream of pain. I'd jumped off of him and yelled for Abby and Caulder. They went to work trying to restrain King and I'd left the room, unable to watch him in such pain. Ever since then, he'd been the asshole of my worst nightmares. Point of the story: even though I was at my wits end with him, I still wanted nothing more than to be on top of him again. But I could wait until he wasn't such a jerk. Wait, King is always a jerk. Sick or not, he's a dick. Fuck it.

"You've been taking really good care of me, Zoe. I know it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park and all."

"Yeah, you're more of an asshole than normal. Hence why I've been keeping you drugged up."

"Zoe! You little minx. You've been taking advantage of me in my drugged state, haven't you?"

"You wish, Hannibal."

"Actually, now that you mention it, I kind of do."

"King." I warned. He seemed to be getting better. His fever was lower than it had been in days. Still, I was skeptical of whether he was actually feeling better or if he just wanted to butter me up so that I'd keep running whenever he called.

"You know, I think that my healing process would have been much faster if you'd dressed up in one of those little nurse outfits-"

"King. Shut up. You're delirious."

"No, I'm actually quite clear. I'm coming out of the drug induced coma you've been keeping me in."

"I had to do it, King. I had to shut you up. You've been whining every waking moment and I can only take so much."

"Don't sass me, woman. I've been turning from a vampire back to human, here! It's kind of been a drag."

"Still, treating everyone like shit isn't getting you anywhere fast, Hannibal."

"Stop calling me Hannibal."

"Stop being annoying and I will."

"You're being so childish Zoe."

"Oh, absolutely. It's totally me that's acting like a toddler." I fumed. I was so ready to get back to my book and away from King. He caught my wrist and held on tight enough that I was unable to get myself loose. Stupid vampire strength.

"I'm still burning up." He was much calmer this time when he said it. I could tell that he was trying to be a bit nicer and I figured that I'd have to take whatever I could get at this point.

"Go take a cold shower." I offered. "It worked yesterday."

"Join me?" he asked, slyly. I narrowed my eyes at him at the question. I'd never seen King without at least a pair of pants on and I wasn't sure if I could contain myself if I actually got into that shower with him. (Fine, I was scared. Happy?)

"I think you can handle it, Hannibal." I purposefully used his first name because I knew it would make him just pissed off enough to repeal his offer.

"Fine." He huffed. As he clumsily removed himself from the bed, I tried to contain a gasp. He wore only a pair of black sweatpants that hung low on his hips. I vaguely remembered the night that he had been chained to the floor when I was ten and Danica was using me to torture King. The man was still as goddamn beautiful eight years later. He hadn't been lying when he said that he was burning up and his chest and abdomen glittered in the light with sweat. I exhaled slowly as I allowed my eyes to travel over his exposed skin. He noticed my attention and smirked. I rolled my eyes when he cleared his throat and quickly exited the room.

I took shelter in the kitchen and went about the task of cleaning the counter. It was already spotless because no one in the house dared to mess up MY kitchen, but I needed a distraction while King showered. The thought of him…enough.

I was so distracted by my mission with the counter that I didn't even hear the entrance of another person into the kitchen. I should have, because I've been trained to hear everything. That was one of King's first rules when we started training. "Vamps are sneaky little bastards." He'd always said. But alas, I was otherwise occupied and didn't hear anything. Suddenly, I jumped as I felt myself being pushed against the counter gently. Two arms held on to the counter in front of me to hold me still. I stiffened out of habit and started to instinctively fight against the intruder. However, my strength was nothing compared to his and I panicked a bit.

"Hey, it's just me." King whispered into my ear. I stopped struggling when I heard his voice, but I found that I was unable to relax my rigid body. "Relax, Zoe." He cooed.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" I breathed. I meant for it to be much louder and angrier, but I could feel his hot breath on my neck and I was having trouble speaking, or thinking for that matter.

"Someone's been slacking off on their training, I see." He growled at me in mock anger. I could tell from his voice that he was close to smiling.

"Yeah, well someone's been taking care of the big baby upstairs for a week and a half. It's kept me quite busy. So needy, that one." I'd found my voice and challenged King with a little more confidence.

"Naughty." King growled into my ear. My stomach dropped and I gulped. King's keen senses allowed him to feel everything I was feeling and he chuckled as he leaned even more of his weight against me. I whimpered softly as I let him press closer to me. Instantly his mouth was on my shoulder that was exposed under the tank top I wore. I sucked in a harsh breath as he bit down gently and then ran his tongue over the bit mark. The bastard was enjoying making me this way. He loved it. Secretly, I did too.

"King." I gasped as he moved his hands to my hips and swiftly turned me to face him. I looked up into his eyes and wasn't sure what emotion I saw in them. It was one that King had never gazed upon me with. In another moment, he lifted me easily onto the counter and moved in between my legs. He was so much taller than me that when I was seated on the counter, our eyes met. I was still trying to identify the emotion in his face. He moved his face closer to mine slowly, his lips turning into his signature smirk. Whatever emotion I'd been failing to identify was gone and he was now looking at me the way I'd seen him look at girls that he brought home when I was younger. I believe it's called Lust. Yes, that's the one.

"Zoe, I'm feeling much better." He stated matter o'factly. I doubted exactly how good he felt, but when he started to kiss me, I decided that I didn't care. His lips moved gently over mine at first as they had the first time I'd kissed him. I expected it to turn heated quickly, but King was showing an amount of restraint that I didn't know he possessed. He brought his hands to my face and then slid them down to my neck, holding me still as he kept kissing. My heart sped up to a speed that probably almost caused me to have a heart attack and I was sure everyone within a ten mile radius could hear it beating. It felt like the first time I'd ever been kissed and if I wasn't seated firmly on the counter, I have no doubt that I would have collapsed. King groaned as I decided to be brave and slid my tongue across his bottom lip lightly. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him tighter to me. He had no objections to this and smiled into our kiss.

King pulled back abruptly and the loss of contact elicited a whine from me. He smirked at me and looked into my eyes, and there it was again, that emotion that I had never seen. I wanted to ask what he was feeling, thinking, but I didn't dare ask for the fear that he'd clam up and I'd lose the pleasure of seeing that look. Luckily, he decided to speak first.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. I blushed and looked down before deciding that it was best to try and fail, rather than to never try at all.

"I'm trying to figure out what the look on your face is. I've never seen it before. Never. And I've memorized the way your eyes change when you're feeling something." I answered with a shrug. King blinked at me and then sighed. He looked disappointed with himself for a moment before he met my eyes again.

"Zoe. Want to know what I'm feeling?"

"If it's good?" I guessed. He shook his head and smiled a bit.

"It's love, Zoe. I love you." He admitted, locking his eyes with mine and, suddenly, it made sense.

"Love?" I asked, my voice higher than I would have liked.

"Yeah, I'm just sorry that you've never seen it before."

"You've never let me see it, King."

"That was my mistake. Even before all of this, you should have been able to see how much I loved you, Zoe. I just love you in a different way now, I guess."

"A different way?"

"God, Zoe. Fine. I love you in the 'I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you' way now, okay? Happy?"

"King, you're nothing but a sappy little-"

"Zoe, if you don't stop right there-"

"I love you too, King. I think you already knew that, though."

"I admit I did. I tried to ignore it. I really did. And if your mother does come from the grave to murder me for what I'm about to do to you, then so be it. I'll die a very happy man."

"What are you going to do to me, King?" I asked, my throat suddenly dry.

"I can show you better than I can tell you."

And then, I was lifted from the counter. I wrapped my legs around his waist tighter as he carried me up the stairs. He hesitated, deciding which room to take me to.

"Mine." I whispered. He chuckled and kicked the door to my bedroom open. King laid me down gently on the bed and shut my door, doubling back to lock it. I was suddenly more nervous than I'd ever been in my life because I knew what was coming. I propped myself up onto my elbows as my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I tried to see what King was doing. I finally saw that he was standing at the foot of my bed, looking at me. He made a noise of disapproval and I instantly felt self-conscious, wondering if I was the source of his displeasure.

"Too dark. I want to see you. All of you." He turned on the lamp on my desk which flooded the dark room with a dim glow. I could see King's face clearly now and I could tell that he was once again using the restraint that I didn't know he possessed. I shivered as he looked at me and even though I still had all of my clothing on, I'd never felt more exposed. He still only wore the low hanging sweatpants and I knew the remark was coming before it left his mouth…

"Babe, you're way too overdressed for this."

**OTHER AUTHORS NOTE: I am fully prepared to take this story to the next level. And by the next level, I mean a rating of M. So, if you'd like a nice little smut scene in the next chapter, review and tell me so and I'll make it happen. I'll gladly make it happen. ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**HERE IT IS FOLKS. SMUT. Pure smut. The whole damn chapter.**

Being my mother's daughter, I'd always been a bit mature for my age. With that being said, I'd gotten the 'talk' from my lovely mother at the tender age of nine. Some may say that it seems like bad parenting, but my mother knew my curiosity was best explained early. Need I remind you that King had been with us for about a year at that point and King had a lot of 'friends' that showed up late and left early? My mother was not happy that King's behavior caused this conversation to be needed so early in my life, but looking back, I'd say it was alright in the end because if she hadn't then, I would have had to ask Abby about it when I became a teenager.

All that being said, at this moment, I knew exactly what was going to happen between King and me. I shook at bit in nervousness as I gazed into his eyes as he studied me from the foot of my bed. King's face was serious and a bit worried and I feared that he was about to change his mind. I closed my eyes and waited for him to apologize and leave me there, but the words never came. I opened one eye and held in a breath. King smirked at me then and lowered himself so that he was kneeling on the bed before me. I mirrored his action and moved to my knees in front of him. I then exhaled the breath and smiled. This was going to happen and I was ready for it. King smiled back at me and leaned forward to kiss me again. I knew that King was aware that I'd never been with anyone before and I wondered what was going thru his mind as he kissed me.

"Zoe." He whispered after he removed his lips from mine.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to keep my breathing steady. The last thing I wanted to do was give King any reason to stop.

"You, uh, you know what's going to happen right? I mean, you've had the-"

"Yes, King. I'm eighteen years old. I've got the idea down." I laughed. He was nervous. King didn't get nervous a lot when it came to women. I felt a bit of pride well up inside me, knowing that the idea of having sex with me made King nervous. King rolled his eyes at me and pushed my shoulders hard enough to send me falling onto my back. Stupid vampire strength. He then lowered himself down on top of me slowly, never breaking eye contact. He supported himself on his forearms and kissed my cheek lightly. I snaked my hand to the back of his head and held him there, enjoying the ghost-light touch of his lips on my skin. He kissed a trail to my ear and whispered to me huskily.

"Zoe. I need to know that this is what you want. One hundred percent, no regrets."

"Of course." It was all I could manage. My mind was spinning and my throat refused to allow any more words to escape.

"I need to hear you say it. Tell me what you want, Zo."

"I want you, King. Fuck it, I need you."

"Are you sure? This is going to change everything between us. We can never go bac-"

"King, shut up. I'm very, painfully aware of what this means and I want it more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. I love you and I want to give this to you."

Apparently, I said the magic words because it was all the affirmation that King needed. He searched my eyes once more, but when I didn't waver, he gently pressed his lips to mine. He pulled back and moved down my body, stopping at my stomach. He raised his eyes to mine once more as he kissed the spot on my torso where the tank top had ridden up. I closed my eyes as his hand was on my stomach, pushing up the fabric. He kissed up my abdomen until he reached the area right below my breasts. He swallowed and raised himself enough so that he could pull the tank top off of me. I'd neglected to wear anything under it after I'd showered that morning and King's eyes darkened when he returned his eyes to my chest. I watched him lower back down, but my eyes shut tightly and my back arched drastically as he took a nipple into his mouth. I groaned as he flicked his tongue over it several times before biting down gently. He moved to the other and mimicked his actions and I realized that I'd never felt something so amazing in my entire life.

"King." I moaned. He enjoyed my encouragement, but removed his mouth from my body and raised himself to a kneeling position again. I whimpered at the loss of contact and he chuckled lightly.

"Easy there, tiger."

"Shut-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know: Shut up King." He growled at me. Suddenly, his hands were unbuttoning my jeans easily and he all but ripped them off of me, taking my panties with them. I felt vulnerable and exposed then, and I refused to look at him. He cleared his throat, but still, I kept my eyes shut tightly. "Zoe."

Nope. Not happening.

"Zoe, look at me."

Still, I kept my eyes shut.

"Zoe, look at me or I'll stop."

"Liar."

"Please, look at me." He asked, running his hand down my stomach. I gave in and opened my eyes to look at him. He smiled at me with reassurance. "You're beautiful, Zoe."

"Now who's overdressed?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"All in good time, woman." He promised. I frowned at him and huffed a bit.

"What the fuck are you wait-" I began. I was forced to stop as I felt his tongue flick across the heat between my legs. "Fuck!" I growled. My head snapped back and I once again arched my back and hips. I writhed under him as he licked and sucked on my clitoris. His hands rested on my hips and pushed on them firmly to hold me still and as always, his strength overpowered my movements. I stood corrected: this was the most amazing thing I'd ever felt in my life. I couldn't help but to moan his name loudly as he kept moving his tongue quickly against me. I felt it then, that unmistakable feeling of warmth spreading over my stomach and I knew that I was going to hit my climax soon. King could sense it too and he began moving his tongue even faster. I buried my hands in his hair and tugged on it a bit harder than I wanted to, but King didn't seem to mind because he groaned a bit and the vibration against my core sent me over the edge. My hips bucked wildly against his firm hands and I moaned his name louder as I came. King moved his tongue in a slow, circular motion around my clit as I rode out the remainder of my orgasm. My back hit the bed and my breathing was labored. I smiled and giggled a bit as I regained my composure. King smirked at me and shook his head at the expression on my face.

"Enjoy that?" he asked smugly. I narrowed my eyes at him in mock annoyance and nodded my head quickly. "Knew you would."

"Cocky much?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Not cocky, just confident." He replied. I grinned at him and raised my hands signaling that it was fine by me. King then stood in front of the bed and slid his pants off quickly. He kicked them away and once again lowered himself down on top of me. I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt his excitement on my thigh. I looked down and gulped at bit. I'd always figured that King would be well endowed, but as I saw it for the first time, the image that I'd had in my head was off by at least two inches. I was a bit nervous about what came next. I'd known that it would hurt a bit at first, but I was beginning to think it was going to hurt a lot more than I'd expected.

"King." I squeaked. I certainly didn't want him to stop, but I knew that he'd already sensed my worry.

"Don't worry Zoe. I'll go slow and if it hurts too bad, just tell me and I'll stop."

"I don't want you to stop!" I said in panic. King chuckled and kissed my forehead gently.

"I'm not going to stop completely, babe. I'll just stop long enough for it to stop hurting."

"Oh." I said quietly. I felt so inexperienced next to him in that moment. I blushed and closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands.

"Hey." He urged, pulling my hand away. "Don't get all shy on me." He teased.

That was a challenge and I was more than happy to take it on.

"I'm not!" I replied indignantly. I then grabbed his face and kissed him firmly. He kissed me back and tangled one hand in my hair. He used the other to guide himself to my center. He broke the kiss long enough to meet my eyes. I nodded and swallowed as I felt him start to enter me. At first, it was okay, but then, once he moved in further the pain came. My eyes watered, but I tried as hard as I could to remain silent. I kept telling myself that in a few moments the pain would go away. I closed my eyes and a tear must've slipped out because King saw it and immediately stopped moving. He kissed it away and slid his thumb across my cheek.

"Zoe, sweetheart, you've got to tell me if it hurts so I can stop."

"It's okay. Just keep going!" I begged through gritted teeth. King looked at me skeptically, but did as I asked and pushed in further. I bit my lip to keep from crying out and tasted my own blood on my tongue. I moaned in pain and King instantly stopped and kissed me gently.

"Zoe." He murmured against my lips. I knew that going to slow was torturing him because I could feel how he shook. I could tell that his restraint was failing him and that all he wanted to do was to slam into me the rest of the way. I held my breath and waited for that moment, but to my surprise, King was able to keep himself composed. After one more flash of pain, he was completely inside of me and I cried out. He stayed completely still until I was able to adjust to the feeling. "Let me know when I can move." He asked. After five more seconds, the pain faded enough and I hoarsely mumbled 'move.'

King pulled out of me a bit, and then thrust back in slowly. I moaned again, but this time out of pleasure rather than pain. King looked at me and I knew he was really having a hard time going so slow. I kissed him hungrily, silently telling him that he could speed up. He understood and quickened his pace. I threw my head back and his name left my lips once more. He attacked my neck with his teeth and lips and alternated kisses and nips. I raised my hips as he thrust into me and he groaned loudly into my ear and I smiled at the reaction I'd gotten out of him.

"Fuck, Zoe. You're so fucking tight." He moaned into my neck. I continued to meet his thrusts with my hips and he continued to curse and groan. By this point, the pain was gone and all that I felt was the intense pleasure of having him inside of me. My nails scratched a path down his shoulders and back and I knew he'd have marks the next morning. He hissed at the slight pain and slammed into me harder than ever. I cried out and cursed loudly. He pulled back quickly to look at me in alarm, thinking that he'd hurt me.

"Do that again King! Please!" I begged, angry that he'd stopped.

"Z-"

"I said, do it again!" I growled. King nodded and kissed me roughly as he pulled all the way out of me and slammed back in. He swallowed my cry and repeated the motion several more times. I once again felt myself coming close to my climax. Once again, I stand corrected. THIS was certainly and without a doubt the most amazing thing I'd ever felt and I was pretty sure I wanted to feel it every day for the rest of my life. King sensed that I was close and began moving in and out of me at an even, but quick pace. "Oh god, King. Yes, fuck. Don't stop."

I felt as if I was going to pass out when the orgasm hit. My back arched off of the bed and I screamed his name out loud as my body was racked with waves of pleasure.

"Fucking hell, Zoe." King moaned as he felt me tighten around him. It took him only three more thrusts before his orgasm came. He went rigid for a moment before collapsing onto the bed next to me. Our bodies were slick with sweat and we both were breathing heavily. I had never felt such bliss in my entire life. King wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him. He kissed me softly, brushing the damp hair out of my eyes.

"Amazing." I breathed.

"Fantastic." King answered.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Zoe. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"I don't even remember it, to be honest." I admitted shyly. "Whatever pain there was, it was so fucking worth it."

"That's my girl."

I smiled as the words left his lips. He'd always called me his girl, but now, it was different. I was the girl he loved, the girl he made love to.

Best fucking night of my life.


End file.
